2026 and Beyond: The Future of Grassroots Participatory Grantmaking
How 30 years of listening, learning, and adapting are shaping the Grassroots Fund’s next chapter.
Thirty years in, the Grassroots Fund is looking forward as much as back. The organization is proud to share the release of its new evergreen Strategic Plan, the product of more than two years of collective reflection, learning, and collaboration across staff, board, and participant input, and is excited to carry that plan forward in the years ahead.
True to form, the Fund keeps “Participatinkering” even with its own infrastructure: a rebuilt website and a new online application experience are on track to launch in 2027, continuing the decades-long effort to strip away barriers between grassroots groups and the resources they need.
Over these thirty years, the Grassroots Fund has built and supported a vast network of grassroots organizations across New England. What is clearer now than ever is that this work was never done alone. Resourcing this network and strengthening relationships within it are what make community resilience possible
"When people say, 'When systems fail, communities prevail,' that's always been true. The systems have never worked for a lot of people. What's changed is that more communities are experiencing that reality, and we're seeing the response happen at the hyper-local level. That's making our work more relevant than ever.
A lot of what we're asking now is, what does a resilient community look like, and how do you build one? It's not a one-size-fits-all solution or a silver bullet. It's hundreds of local projects that allow people to build relationships, strengthen social bonds, and create their own solutions.
Our role is to keep learning alongside those communities. This work is never done. We have to keep asking, 'What do we need to think about next?' That's part of our DNA as The Grassroots Fund. The realities communities face will continue to change, and our structures, our practices, and our leadership have to keep evolving too.
Ultimately, resilience isn't something you can design from the top down. It grows from trust, participation, and communities having the space to shape solutions that reflect their own strengths, needs, and relationships.
That's what grassroots leadership has always been about, and why I believe this work is more important now than ever."
- Bart Westdijk, The Grassroots Fund Co-director
"When I look back over the last 30 years, one thing feels clear: the needs of communities will keep changing, and we have to keep changing with them. We've already seen how dramatically the environmental, climate, and social justice movements have evolved, and I think that pace of change is only accelerating.
Over and over, especially during times of crisis, we've seen that it's grassroots groups who respond first. Communities may have come together around a farmers market or a community garden, but when new challenges emerge, they adapt. They organize around food insecurity, access to medical supplies, or whatever their neighbors need most. That's what grassroots leadership looks like, and it's why community resilience has become such an important part of our work. Community resilience includes joy, celebration, justice, and mutual aid.
Our responsibility is to build an organization that's rooted in its mission while staying flexible and responsive. That means continually listening, engaging, and asking where we're not meeting the need. It means recognizing that shared leadership grows at the speed of trust, and that we have to create the structures, relationships, and space for people to shape the work alongside us.
The history of the Grassroots Fund isn't just about adapting to change. It's about building an organization that expects change and is committed to growing with the communities it serves."
-Faye Christoforo, The Grassroots Fund Co-director
The Strategic Plan outlines the New England Grassroots Environment Fund’s long-term vision and commitments as an evergreen strategy.
It is a living framework grounding our work in equity, Environmental Justice, and communityled change while allowing space for reflection and tinkering.
This document provides a steady foundation for how we adapt our programs, partnerships, and internal practices over time in response to community feedback and shifting environmental and political realities.